The Heir of Gryffindor
by WolvenNightshade
Summary: Sirius Black's son has not had an easy life, join him as he earns his place with "The Golden Trio" at Hogwarts and proves himself to be a good person as he struggles to be the son that his mother and father would be proud of.


_**Summery: Sirius Black has a son who is also the heir of Godric Gryffindor and the famous Halliwell sisters (Charmed crossover) and he is doing what he can to be the son that his parents would be proud of and to claim back the family he had once lost.** _

* * *

**Chapter One**

**The crisp Autumn leaves flew around him, dancing and twirling in the cool breeze like thousands of multicolor butterflies as they slowly floated to the cobble stone path that lead through the woods from the town to the old, historic manor and crunched beneath his feet as he walked home. His shaggy, dark-chocolate brown hair that usually fell to his shoulders was blowing around his face, he had a rascally look to him, though with the dark good-looks as was the trademark of his father's family but his mother's bright blue eyes stood out strikingly. He was a tall, well-built, darkly handsome young man with fair skin and an air of "casual elegance". This vestige of aristocratic beauty is apparently an attribute passed down through the Black Family, but he also descended from a much older, more noble family than of his father's line, through his mother.**

**Walking along beside him, was a large, bear-like black dog. This dog was always there with him in his dreams, and he felt that . . . . no, he knew that he knew this dog from some time in his past, and the memories of a young boy . . . of himself laughing as he sat on the bag of this dog as it ran around a familiar yard and a woman with dark-red hair was laughing with her husband who wore glasses and had short black hair that stuck up in all direction, holding his son who looked exactly like him. **

**Suddenly, a terrible wind picked up, shaking the trees and he was almost blind except that he was seeing a whirlwind of glasses flashing past his face, he stared down the road and watched in horror as three black figures glided up the road, drawing in rattling breaths as though trying to breath in some-thing other than air. He turned toward the black dog but it was gone, and in it's place stood a tall, well-built, darkly handsome man with fair skin, long, lustrous black hair, and striking gray eyes that first showed joy, as thought nothing in the world could make him happier to be standing here with him, but then the joy turned to sorrow and fear as he too turned to stare at the figures that swooped down on the both of them, blacking out all light. And now he was staring through the bars of the prison, looking down into the furthest, most darkest corner at a man dressed in a striped uniform, and had a gaunt, sunken face, waxy skin, yellow teeth, and long, matted hair.**

**There was a long, drawn out scream and suddenly he was sitting up in bed and was staring around an unfamiliar bedroom, as though expecting to see the shape of his father curled up in the shadows, or perhaps the black dog. No one was there, and finally he remembered that he had not lived in Godric's Hollow for many years and he began to recognize his surroundings.**

**When Iolaus was six years old, and that was 5 years after Lily and James died in that very village just down the road, a law had passed from the Ministry of Magic stating that no werewolf may be parent or guardian to a child. There was no trial, but he remembered a short, squat woman wearing all pink give a girlish giggle and said in no uncertain terms that his mother was a filthy monster for endangering his life with her hideous curse. His mother had been bitten by her friend, Remus Lupin a year before Iolaus was born, it had been an accident, a horrible incident and she had forgiven him, they remained good friends. Iolaus did not inherit the curse, to which everyone was relieved to discover, but he did have heightened senses.**

**Everything was chaos when the Ministry officials suddenly crowded the living room, all with wands out in case they were met with resistance. Iolaus' mother had screamed and cried, sounding so much like Lily Potter in her last moments as she protected Iolaus and Harry. Lily and James had been looking after him, to protect him in case Iolaus was used by the death Eaters as a means to find them. And then before he knew it, Iolaus was living with The Malfoy family. He did not like them much, and the house never had the warm, welcome feeling of home and he missed his mother, and his home like a constant ache.**

**Sure, there were about a dozen presents for him on his birthday, and on Christmas, he had his own broom, but theses things meant little to him and he would give it all away to Draco if he could just spend another day in his house, with his mother.**

**The Malfoys were related to him, indeed. Narcissa Malfoy (nee' Black) was his father, Sirius Black's cousin and Iolaus' mother comes from her own noble family, The Halliwells; descendants of two of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. Their great grandchildren had joined the families in marriage and then later they joined one of the oldest magical families, The Halliwells who dated back from the time of the four founders but they always kept the name alive in honor of the Halliwell sisters. **

**Iolaus's mother had taught him much about his heritage. His home in Godric's Hollow, named so for his ancestor, was the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor and he lived in that very house that Iolaus so missed. During the war, Godric's mansion was used as Headquarters for a secret society of people fighting against Lord Voldemort, The Order of The Phoenix, started by Albus Dumbledore who was the leader. His mother's family refused to join Voldemort many times, declined marriage proposals from the death eaters, yet she married his father because he was so different from his family.**

**The Black family believed strongly in pure-blood elitism. They refused to consort with Muggles or Muggle-Borns, Squibs and Blood traitors and even disowned Squib family members, such as Sirius' great-uncle Marius Black, and insisted that their members only marry within respectable pure-blood classes, because of these beliefs they were forced to marry their own cousins. They also held the Dark Arts in reverence. Sirius rejected these values, leading to conflict with his family. He even put permanent-sticking charms on Gryffindor banners, as well as pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis, and motorcycles, and a picture of himself and his Gryffindor friends on the walls of his room to emphasize his differences from the family and annoy his parents. When his cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa made the desirable pure-blood marriages, to Rodolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy respectively, Sirius held them in contempt. His favorite cousin, Andromeda, was disowned by the family as a "blood traitor" when she married Ted Tonks, a Muggle-born wizard. Sirius would later share this designation and was held in contempt, even hatred, by some members of his family. **

**Iolaus clung to his mother's beliefs, he knew the wizarding world all believed his father was the traitor who sold Lily and James Potter to Lord Voldemort and nobody knew, not even Hagrid knew, that Iolaus had been in that house the night they died. It was kept secret since Dumbledore would not let Harry stay at Godric's manor, she feared if Dumbledore knew that Lily had made the boys blood-brothers that her son might be taken to live with the Dursley's too. She always used a muggle make-up called concealer to keep Iolaus' scar hidden and told him never to doubt that his daddy was a good wizard and that he must have been framed.**

**Iolaus' first year at Hogwarts had not gone well. First he had almost been sorted to Slytherin, but he chose to be in Gryffindor and then on his first day of lessons, he had been pulled out of Double Potions, to which he thought was a stroke of luck because Snape appeared to really hate him. He was called to the Headmaster's office where he found Lucius Malfoy demanding that Dumbledore place Iolaus in Slytherin, apparently the hat had confided that Iolaus had chosen Gryffindor and Lucius Malfoy wanted Iolaus to state that this was simply not true.**

**Iolaus said no such thing, he confirmed that he would rather be in the same house as his mother and great ancestor, not mentioning his father because he always pretending to believe the same as everyone else as to avoid the trouble. The following day he had received a Howler at Breakfast, and now everyone knew that Iolaus was not only the son of the mass murderer Sirius Black, but bound determined to follow in his father's footsteps. Those who did not know anything about Sirius Black were told by other students who did and Iolaus made absolutely no friends in his first year and received no gifts from home. **

**He was ignored all Summer, but whenever they did talk to him, he received snide remarks and threats of being disowned. He did everything he had heard of about his father, put permanent-sticking charms on Gryffindor banners, as well as pictures of Muggle girls in bikinis, and motorcycles.**

**The Malfoys were clearly not going to wait until he was sixteen to disown him, they at first tried to starve him out, but the house elf, Dobby was secretly leaving Iolaus some food, as he was rather kind to the elf. Draco discovered this, he had invited himself in Iolaus' bedroom to gloat that his parents had completely skipped his birthday and found Dobby leaving a tray at the foot of the bed. The elf was cruely punished but Iolaus was told to pack up his things and Lucius Malfoy dropped him off on a London street and Apparated back home. Iolaus flagged down the Knight Bus to take him to Godric's Hollow, hoping that he could finally return home.**

**Iolaus visited Lily and James' graves first, he left flowers there and went down the road to look at the house that had lived in, the house where his brother, Harry Potter, had been born.**

**The hedge had grown wild since he had last been here, and the grass that had once tickled their toes as he and Harry flew around the yard on toy Broomsticks was now waist-high and here and there were scattered rubble. Most of the cottage was still standing, though entirely covered in dark, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart; that, Iolaus was sure, was where the curse had backfired. He stood alone at the gate, gazing up at the wreck of what must once have been a cottage just like those that flanked it. **

**He supposed nobody had tried to rebuild it as a sort of memorial to the people that had died here or perhaps it was not possible, like an injury of dark magic that doesn't allow anything to heal. His hand jumped to the invisible scar on his forehead, then he lowered it slowly to rest on the rusted gate, not wishing to open it, but simply to hold some part of the house.**

**As soon as he had touched the gate, a sign had risen out of the ground in front of him, up through the tangles of nettles and weeds, like some bizarre , fast-growing flower, and in golden letters upon the wood, it said:**

_On this spot, on the night of 31, October, 1981,_

_Lily and James Potter lost their lives._

_Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard_

_ever to have survived the Killing Curse._

_This house, invisible to muggles, has been left_

_in it's ruined state as a monument to the Potters_

_and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family._

**And all around these neatly lettered words, scribbles had been added by other witches and wizards who had come to see the place where The Boy Who Lived had escaped. Some had merely signed their names in everlasting ink; others had carved their initials into the wood, still others had left messages. The most recent of these, shining brightly over 11 years of magical graffiti, all said similar things.**

_Good luck, Harry, wherever you are._

_If you read this, Harry, we're all behind you!_

_Long live Harry Potter_

**Wiping away his silent tears, Iolaus turned away from the house and walked home. As he walked down the path, he kept looking behind him, and from side to side, as though hoping to spot the big black dog that would walk with him in his dreams. **

**He eventually reached the house and stopped in his tracks, the garden was overgrown with weeds and the neatly cut grass was now tall and as tangled as the cottage, as though nobody had lived here for years. He ran inside and began calling for his mother, yelling and crying for her to answer, but all he got were the echoes of his own voice. He checked every room, even calling out for Remus, but nobody answered and no one came, he ran outside and around the mansion, but nobody was there, and finally he searched the mansion graveyard. **

**Iolaus stood there, staring at the carved name of his mother, who was buried beneath him in the dirt, not knowing or caring that her living son stood so near, his heart still beating and wishing that he could crawl in their and lay with her. **

**It was dark and cold when he finally moved away from the headstone, he found his own bedroom and with a wave of his wand, cleared away the dust, he tossed his bag aside and cried himself to sleep. In the morning, he found a pot of Floo Powder by the old fireplace and after clearing away the spider webs, he stood there gazing out at the living room for one last time, wondering if he might ever return.**

**"****Leaky Cauldron." he had yelled.**

**He threw the powder into the fireplace and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash. The green flames hid the living room from view and he felt like he was being sucked down a giant plug hole. The whirling made him feel sick, he closed his eyes, wishing it would stop, and then he was tumbling out onto a carpet in a pub and some people were giving him furtive glancing before returning to their supper.**

**He could remember it, all as if it had been just the other day, Iolaus had gained a friend, Tom the Landlord allowed him to stay and The Leaky Cauldron has been his home ever since he had fallen through the fireplace covered in ash and soot. **

**Iolaus had found a muggle store where he could buy the concealer his mother had used, and when the lady asked, he simply pointed out that it was actually for his sister, adding in eyeliner to make it convincing and to be able to pay for it, he had asked for a muggle exchange for some of his money so that he could even get some muggle clothing, a nice lady in the store had helped him find things that would look good on him.**

**Iolaus shook his head to stop himself reminiscing his entire life leading up to this point, he got out of bed and dressed himself in a pair of tan cargo pants with a matching jacket over a plain white shirt. He brushed his hair and applied his make-up, first covering his lightning-shaped scar and then the eye-liner. He had taken his shower last night, thinking he would not have the time in the morning, it was time to return to Hogwarts for his second year.**

**"****Housekeeping." said a lady in a dull voice, her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing an apron over a faded, patchy dress. "You should be getting off to Hogwarts, dear. You're running late."**

**"****Yeah, see you." he replied, hurrying to his trunk and hauling it out the door. He said farewell to Tom and left the pub. The Knight Bus sped around the corner and stropped with a earsplitting shriek as the door opened and Iolaus boarded the train, not listening to Stan's welcome.**

**"****Ah, Iolaus. Was wanderin' when I'd be seein' yeh again." said Stan Shunpike. "Where to this time?" but he knew before he finished his question, gazing down at the Hogwarts trunk. "London train station, Ernie."**

**Iolaus fell into a seat. The beds that had been here last time had been replaced with booths and tables, only a few people were there, though there could be others on the second or third floor. **

**"****Get you anythin?"**

**"****No thanks, I'll eat on Hogwarts Express. Running late." Iolaus said as he set down the money for the ride.**

**The Knight Bus flew around cars and across the corners of streets, squeezed in between other buses and trucks as it sped through London to the train station. Iolaus did not stick around for farewell's after Stan helped get his trunk off the Knight Bus, he hurried through the station, grabbed a cart and followed the Weasley family to the gateway Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He had seen them in The Leaky Cauldron over summer on their way to Diagon Alley to buy all the school things, but it had not been the first time he had ever seen them. The Malfoys had been Christmas shopping and had brought him and Draco along, they met the Weasley's and harsh things were said.**

**The Weasleys had stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go... " Iolaus smiled but kept out of sight, he was afraid Molly Weasley might recognize him.**

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."**

**Percy Weasley was a Gryffindor prefect, he had two other brothers but they had left Hogwarts already. He noticed a boy with short black hair watching the family too, his eyes following Percy Weasley run towards the Barrier between Platforms nine and ten but a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, Percy had vanished. **

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" Fred and George, Gryffindor's twin pranksters, always joking.**

**"Sorry, George, dear." **

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone **

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there - and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

**"Excuse me," said the black-haired boy to the plump woman. **

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." **

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose. **

**"Yes," said the first year. "The thing is - the thing is, I don't know how to -" **

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and the boy nodded. **

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

**"Er - okay,"**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier.**

**Iolaus watched him vanish through to the other side and had been thinking idly of how he had looked a lot like James when Molly Weasley turned around to look at him.**

**"****Dear, have we met?" she asked.**

**"****Hmm? oh, sorry Mrs. Weasley." he replied, returning to the present. "Yes, we have met. I believe Lucius Malfoy and your husband had a very heated argument in Diagon Alley, just before Christmas."**

**"****Oh." said Mrs. Weasley tartly. "Why aren't you with them now?"**

**"****I was sorted to Gryffindore and refused to be resorted to Slytherin, I do believe they feared my being a blood-traitor would rub off on their son, they disowned me. I wanted to be in the same house as my mother, and my ancestor, Godric Gryffindor."**

**"****Oh, well . . . ." said Molly, smiling at him. "You have some nicer relatives looking after you I hope."**

**"****Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Weasley." Iolaus replied politely. "I'll be alright."**

**Mrs Weasley looked flattered, as though his politeness surprised her. "Well, we should be hurrying along now dear, you shouldn't miss the train."**

**He followed Mrs. Weasley through the Barrier and she said some very encouraging, touching words before sending Iolaus onto the train and calling her sons to her. **

**Iolaus sat in an empty compartment by the window, half hidden as he watched the red-haired family. Mrs. Weasley had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**"****"Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

**"Mom - geroff" He wriggled free. **

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

**"Shut up," said Ron. **

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

**"He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Iolaus noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. **

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves -" **

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once -" **

**"Or twice -" **

**"A minute -" **

**"All summer -" **

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term - send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

**"Now, you two - this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've - you've blown up a toilet or -" **

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mom." **

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron." **

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

**"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

**"Who?" **

**"Harry Potter!" **

**Iolaus heard the little girl's voice. **

**"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please..." **

**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning." **

**"Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." but Iolaus immediately sat it all in a flash at the very mention of it, sometimes he wished people knew he had been there that night too.**

**"All right, keep your hair on." **

**A whistle sounded. **

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." **

**"George!" **

**"Only joking, Mom." **

**The train began to move. Iolaus saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. Iolaus watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window.**

**The door of the compartment slid open and a girl with bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth came in, dragging her Hogwarts trunk.**

**"****Excuse me, is anyone sitting there?"**

**"****Do you see anyone?" Iolaus asked politely. He smiled so she would not think he was being rude.**

**"****Well, do you mind if I joined you?" she asked in a bossy sort of voice. "Everywhere else is full."**

**"****Well, sit down then." he offered politely, looking at the seat opposite him. She tossed back her hair and sat down, Iolaus brought out his wand and levitated her trunk to sit up in the rafters next to his.**

**"****You're quite talented, are you a first year?"**

**"****No, second year."Iolaus replied, "But I have a lot of time to practice." he said quietly.**

**"****I'm Hermione Granger." she said, "And you are?"**

**"****Iolaus Sirius Halliwell." **

**"****Halliwell?" Hermione repeated, "I bought some extra books for back-ground reading and your name came up. The Halliwells are descendants of Godric Gryffindor."**

**"****Yeah, I know. My mom taught me about my ancestry."**

**"****Is your father magical, or muggle?"**

**"****He was a wizard, and before someone else tells you about how evil he is and how I'm going to turn out as bad as him, or before you read about it, I think I should inform you, that my father, Sirius Black is in Azkaban." And he told her about how he had killed Peter Pettigrew and the twelve muggles.**

**"****It sounds like you expect me to condemn you for what your father has done. I'll admit, what he did was horrible, but you shouldn't be punished for being related to him, it's completely obserd."**

**"****Tell that to everyone else." Iolaus said dully.**

**"****You've just got to make a name for yourself, do something that people will know you for. What house are you in?" she asked suddenly.**

**"****Gryffindore."**

**"****See, no wizard ever went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.**

**"****My father apparently did." He wasn't sure why it was that everyone in Slytherin were so unpleasant, but perhaps it was the way they had to be so that they proved to the rest that they were no blood-traitors. They acted that way because if they had any sense of character, they might be deserted and alone within a snake's nest.**

**"****Well you don't have to be the same as him just because everyone believes so."**

**Iolaus decided to change the subject.**

**"****So what about your parents?"**

**"****They're muggles, I didn't even know I was a witch until I got my letter."**

**"****And what do they do in the muggle world?"**

**"****They're dentists." Hermione answered, "They fix teeth," she explained at the dubious look on Iolaus' face.**

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Iolaus, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet and motioned for Hermione to grab what she wanted but she blushed scarlet and shook her head. Since she was Muggle-Born, Iolaus figured she could not recognize anything and he bought a bit of everything and told her to try what she liked.**

**Once they had finished going through most the sweats, Hermione said that they should change into their robes, as they should be there soon. So Hermione and Iolaus stood, backs against each other for privacy, changed into their Hogwarts uniforms.**

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. Iolaus was chewing on a licorice wand and Hermione opening a box of Chocolate Frog, excitedly trying to start a collection of cards when a round-faced boy with black hair entered their compartment. He looked tearful.**

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"**

**"****What's your name?" said Hermione, getting up and patting him on the back.**

**"****N-Neville Longbottom." he replied. "My great-uncle Algie got me that Toad for getting my letter, everyone was worried I might not be a wizard."**

**"****It's alright, Neville. I'll help you find your toad." said Hermione, looking over expectantly at Iolaus. He saw what she was asking and got up from his seat, following the other two out of the compartment. **

**"****Hermione, you go on, I'll search the other way." Iolaus said, she nodded and lead Nevile down the train. He caught sight of Draco Malfoy coming his way and darted inside of a compartment to avoid being seen.**

**"****Excuse me, can we help you with something?" asked a familiar voice. He turned around and found himself looking at the Weasley twins.**

**"****Halliwell! What are you . . . ?"**

**"****Oh, hey, I was just going to ask if you'd seen a toad, a boy named Neville has lost one."**

**The twins and their friend, Lee Jordon, all just shook their heads.**

**"****Right, that was all, see you at Hogwarts." He left.**

**He continued down the train, asking around but there was no word of this toad, and incidentally ran into Draco Malfoy. He looked so much like his father, white-blond hair flattened back and wearing a twisted smirk on his pointed face. **

**"****Well look who it is." said Draco, talking to large boys flanking him like a pair of boulder-sized bodyguards who both cracked their knuckles menacingly at Iolaus, who's expression became hardened and guarded. "Crabbe, Goyle, this is the shame of the family, Iolaus Halliwell."**

**"****Pleased to make your acquaintence." Iolaus said sarcastically, with an air of mocked politeness.**

**"****How dare you speak to us, you filthy half-breed."**

**"****Half breed?" Iolaus repeated, feigning confusion, yet his blood froze in fury.**

**"****That's right, Father was just talking to Delores Umbridge at the Ministry, and she informed him the reason why you were left in our care. Your father a murderer and your mother a filthy werewolf, they couldn't believe you had ever even been allowed to stay at our home, you probably knew the whole time, didn't you? That's why they left you out in the cold, it had nothing to do with you being Gryffindor, though admittedly that just added to their shame that they boarded up your old bedroom as soon as you were gone and painted over it. So it's like you never even lived at the manor."**

**Iolaus said nothing, he held back the rage, knowing that a reaction is what Draco wanted, he raised his chin, showing confidence he did not really have and gave Draco the coldest stare. **

**"****I bet you hoped you life at my house was permanent, you thought anyone could really love an animal like you. You might have been planning to attack us while we slept."**

**"****Werewolf only transform during the full moon, and unless you were too dim to notice, in the seven years since I lived at the manor, not once did I ever transform."**

**"****As if that matters." sneered Draco. "You know, Father also mentioned that your mother had died not long after you were gone."**

**This was the last straw, Iolaus drew his wand just as Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward and the smile on Draco's face was quickly replaced by fear and Iolaus sent a jinx at him that hit Draco in the chest and sent him flying down the hall just as one fist punched right through Iolaus' stomach and the other collided with his nose. He fired two more spells after them which chased the two boys as they ran down the corridor, Crabbe, the slowest of the two, was caught with a full-body-bind curse and Goyle was hit was a leg-locker. **

**Students were running everywhere as Iolaus swore out loud and ducked out of sight as prefects came spilling out into the corridor, looking for the source of the commotion. He waited for the prefects to return to their carriage before making his way back to his compartment, Hermione was not there so he took out a book and began reading.**

**"****How did it go?" she asked when she returned with the still saddened Neville Longbottom as she sat down in the compartment. "Any sign of Neville's toad?"**

**"****No toad, sorry Neville." said Iolaus, not looking up from his book. The boy whimpered like a kicked dog and sat down next to him. "If you don't find him, ask for a new one over holiday, toads all look the same."**

**"****I wonder if we'll be there soon." asked Hermione.**

**"****Might be." said Iolaus. "It's getting dark, at Hogwarts they have the sorting just before the feast, and then everyone goes to bed. We need the sleep because classes start tomorrow."**

**"****I'm going to go up and ask, care to join?"**

**"****Sure . . ." he replied halfheartedly. He stood and followed her down the train, weaving his way through the chaos of excited students darted from one compartment to the next, eager to find all of their friends before they arrived at Hogwarts and exchanging news. Hermione made noises of irritation all the way to the Conductor and muttered about "childish behavior" until they reached the front. **

**As they made their way back, Iolaus saw Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle leaving a compartment in a hurry and running off up the train. Hermione stepped into the compartment and Iolaus followed her in, looking around at the scattered mess of sweets all over the floor and two boys standing up looking heatedly in the direction the boys had run off in. **

**"What has been going on?" asked Hermione, sounding a bit like Professor McGonagall. Harry recognized Harry from back at the platform barrier and the youngest of Molly Weasley's sons holding up a rat by it's tail.**

**"****I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep-" **

**And so he had. **

**"You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Iolaus and Hermione. "Can we help you two with something?" **

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, We've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" **

**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you and your boyfriend mind leaving while we change?" **

**"****Boyfriend?" Iolaus mouthed soundlessly.**

**"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" **

**Ron glared at her as she left. **

**"****I'm not her boyfriend." Iolaus said defensively at Ron as he followed Hermione out into the corridor. They returned to their compartment and sat talking about which houses Hermione and Neville might be sorted into. **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Neville whimpered, but whether it was the absence of his toads or nerves of arriving at Hogwarts, Iolaus did not know, perhaps It was a little of both. He kept on encouraging the two of them that they had nothing to be worried about and the first night at Hogwarts was something neither of them would ever forget.**

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Iolaus shivered in the cold air and watched a yellow lamp come bobbing over the heads of the students, and he heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

**"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

**Iolaus took Hermione's hand and pulled her into a comforting hug and then pulled her away to look into her face, "Look after Neville Hermione, and don't worry, you'll do just fine. Follow Hagrid, it's tradition that First years cross the lake. I'll see you at Hogwarts, and whatever house becomes yours, I promise to still be your friend, if you wish it."**

**Hermione beamed up at him and Iolaus saw her off at the Lake's edge and waved as she floated away in the boats, then he headed off to find an empty carriage. Anyone who wanted to ride with him would probably be those who did not care who he was related to and treated him no differently than everyone else.**

**Compared to his first year, the weather was a lot better and he knew that the first years now were traveling across the lake a lot better than he could recall. It had been pouring rain and his fellow first years had entered the Great Hall looking as though they had swam across the lake.**

**He listened idly to the group of third years talking about the break-in at Gringots but kept quiet until they had asked whether he was supposed to be sailing across the lake with first years.**

**No one greeted Iolaus or asked about his Summer as he sat down with the Gryffindors, he listened silently and waited for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.**

**"****Oy, Iolaus isn't it?"**

**Iolaus turned to see the Weasley twins looking at him.**

**"****Yes?" he asked, wondering what they could possibly want with him.**

**"****You find that toad?"**

**"****No." he replied. **

**"****We were debating why you would be off on such an errand, and the only thing that seems agreeable is that you might actually have been trying to be decent."**

**"****A feeble attempt as I could not, for the life of me, understand why anyone would be upset over losing a toad, if it had been my own I would have been glad to be rid of it but everyone seems determined to condemn me for who I am related to so I have no choice but to try to befriend first years."**

**"****We can understand that, we have very undesirable relatives." said Percy. "You don't cause trouble and it has come to my notice that you spend every spare moment studying as though you were taking O. ."**

**"****Professor Snape hates me and looks for any excuse to fail me. The only way I passed last year was to beat him at his own game and study so that he can find nothing wrong with my work."**

**"****Don't take it personally, Snape hates everyone who isn't in Slytherin." said Percy.**

**"****Snape is old friends with the Malfoys." Iolaus pointed out.**

**"****What does that have to do with it?" Percy asked confusedly.**

**Iolaus sighed and told Percy about his hard Summer and how he had come to live with the Malfoys. He noticed the twins listening in and added the confrontation on the train.**

**"****Well . . . " but whatever he was going to say, Iolaus never knew, because at that moment, the doors of the Great Hall had opened and Professor McGonagall entered, leading the first years up the hall toward the old patched and frayed hat that sat on the stool, a long rip across the brim where his mouth was and Percy sat up.**

**For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing: **

**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, **

**But don't judge on what you see, **

**I'll eat myself if you can find **

**A smarter hat than me. **

**You can keep your bowlers black, **

**Your top hats sleek and tall, **

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **

**And I can cap them all. **

**There's nothing hidden in your head **

**The Sorting Hat can't see, **

**So try me on and I will tell you **

**Where you ought to be. **

**You might belong in Gryffindor, **

**Where dwell the brave at heart, **

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart; **

**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **

**Where they are just and loyal, **

**Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil; **

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **

**if you've a ready mind, **

**Where those of wit and learning, **

**Will always find their kind; **

**Or perhaps in Slytherin **

**You'll make your real friends, **

**Those cunning folk use any means **

**To achieve their ends. **

**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **

**And don't get in a flap! **

**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. She looked down at the scroll of names and then back up at the group of first years, calling"Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause - **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at **

**the Hufflepuff table. The ghost of the Fat Friar waved merrily at her. **

**"Bones, Susan!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

**"Boot, Terry!" **

**"RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Iolaus saw the twin brothers catcalling. **

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. **

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" **

**"Finnigan, Seamus,"**

**"****GRYFFINDOR"**

**"Granger, Hermione!" **

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. **

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. **

**Iolaus stood up and waved her over and she sat down next to him.**

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

**Draco Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" **

**Draco went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!" **

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

**"Potter, did she say?" **

**"****The Harry Potter?" **

**"****GRYFFINDOR!"the hat shouted, after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.**

**The hall Erupted with cheers and Harry walked over to their table looking as if he had been stupified. Percy got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down opposite Nearly Headless Nick.**

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. **

**"GRYFFINDOR!" **

**Iolaus, Hermione, and Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley Pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

**"Thank you!" **

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. **

**"Is he - a bit mad?" Harry asked Percy uncertainly. **

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" Iolaus laughed at the incredoulus look on Harry's face as the table was suddenly covered with roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak, **

**"Can't you -?" **

**"****I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!" **

**"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" **

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry and Iolaus looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Draco who, he was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding - " **

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." **

**The others laughed. **

**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

**He held up the toad, apparently he had managed to find it.**

**Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing - "). **

**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head at the same exact time that Iolaus had, but he had not said anything and so it went unnoticed.**

**"What is it?" asked Percy. **

**"N-nothing."**

**Indeed, The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. **

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked Percy. **

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

**"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. **

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

**"He's not serious?" Iolaus muttered to Percy. **

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

**"Hogwarts, Howarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **

**Teach us something please, **

**Whether we be old and bald **

**Or young with scabby knees, **

**Our heads could do with filling **

**With some interesting stuff, **

**For now they're bare and full of air, **

**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **

**So teach us things worth knowing, **

**Bring back what we've forgot, **

**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **

**And learn until our brains all rot. **

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**Iolaus bade Hermione a good night and left the great hall after the rest of the school, separating at the grand staircase as the Hufflepuffs went off to the kitchens, the Slytherins to the dungeons, and the Ravenclaws off the the highest tower. He exchanged only a few words with the four boys who shared his Dormitory and went to bed hoping that he would not have potions first thing.**


End file.
